


Heart of a Dancer

by WhatsYourNameMan



Series: Me being fascinated by Willie and Caleb’s relationship [5]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Alex Mercer Has Bad Parents (Julie and The Phantoms), Alternate Universe - Ballet, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Caleb Covington Being an Asshole, Coming Out, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Miscommunication, Non-binary character, Rated T for language, Transphobia, but not an evil asshole he’s just not winning dad of the year award anytime soon, he/they willie, she/they flynn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:27:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29680485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatsYourNameMan/pseuds/WhatsYourNameMan
Summary: Alex has a very long list of things he needs to worry about today. He needs to worry about being on time to his first dance class of the year. He needs to worry about impressing his new teacher, who he’s heard is somehow even stricter than his old one. He needs to worry about making sure his dad never, ever finds out that he was even at the studio at all.He didn’t think he’d have to worry about getting run over by a skateboard.Or, the enemies-to-lovers Willex ballerina AU that no one asked for
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Carrie Wilson, Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Alex Mercer & Carrie Wilson, Caleb Covington & Willie, Flynn & Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: Me being fascinated by Willie and Caleb’s relationship [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2136879
Comments: 30
Kudos: 97





	1. Let Me Dance Like a Bug on a Cinema Screen

**Author's Note:**

> Content warnings: Alex’s parents’ homophobia is mentioned, and Alex accidentally misgenders Willie throughout the chapter (he doesn’t know Willie is non-binary)
> 
> Me? Writing about Alex and Willie’s relationships with dance _again_??? It’s more likely than you think. 
> 
> Title and chapter titles from “Heart of a Dancer” by The Happy Fits (a very Alex song if you ask me)

Alex has a very long list of things he needs to worry about today. He needs to worry about being on time to his first dance class of the year. He needs to worry about impressing his new teacher, who he’s heard is somehow even stricter than his old one. He needs to worry about making sure his dad never, ever finds out that he was even at the studio at all. 

He didn’t think he’d have to worry about getting run over by a skateboard. 

He’s almost to the door of the building when someone slams into him, sending him falling to the ground. Whoever it is collapses next to him. 

“Aw, man, you dinged my board,” the person groans. 

Alex climbs to his feet. “I dinged your board? Dude, you ran me over, you’re lucky I didn’t—“

The skater stands, long dark hair falling around sharp cheekbones and concerned brown eyes, and Alex’s brain shuts off. 

_Pretty_ , his mind supplies, unhelpfully. Then it adds, _Ow._

Alex looks down to the source of his pain and almost passes out. He’s scraped his knee, but that’s not what catches his attention. His focus goes right to the massive hole in his tights surrounding the scrape, right where the delicate fabric emerges from under his shorts. 

The skater follows Alex’s eyes to the tear and cringes sympathetically. “I’m sorry, man. My hair flew into my eyes and I couldn’t see you. I’ve got some bandaids if you want one.”

Alex knows he should say that it’s very kind of him to offer, and that he’s not really worried about the scrape so much as his ruined tights, but his brain has gone into overdrive because none of this was on his list of things to worry about today, and yet this one little incident has ruined _everything_. He’s going to be late, and his teacher will hate him for it, and then he’ll see the giant hole in his tights and he’ll get called out for violating dress code. He can’t even buy a new pair from the little shop inside the studio because he spent the last of his busking cash on a desperately needed new pair of drumsticks, and he can’t use his credit card because his parents would see the charge and then he would be fucked. 

So he knows he should say thank you and accept the bandaid, but all he can manage is a rough, “Whatever,” before pushing past the skater to go inside and find Carrie. 

He hears the skater scoff behind him. “Okay, asshole.”

Alex ignores him and manages to stop Carrie right before she enters studio A, pulling her away from the door. “Do you have any tights I can borrow?”

Carrie rolls her eyes. “You’re, like, half a foot taller than me.” 

“Okay, then can I borrow some money to get new ones? I’ll pay you back.” They both know he won’t, but he offers every time anyways. Carrie’s dad, Trevor, is the one who pays for Alex’s lessons and everything he needs for them, and the one time Alex genuinely tried paying him back Trevor responded as if he’d suggested murder. 

“Dad took my credit card away after I got caught at that party,” Carrie says. “Just ask him to buy you more after class. We’re going to be late anyways.”

“No, Care, I—“ He he doesn’t get to finish, because she pushes him through the door. There’s a small step up into the studio, and his foot catches on the ledge, sending him stumbling straight into his new instructor. 

Alex scrambles back. “I’m so sorry, sir.” He’s heard of Caleb Covington before. He’s one of the most accomplished ballet instructors in LA history. And one of the most terrifying. 

The man looks Alex over with shrewd blue eyes. “What’s your name?”

Alex swallows hard, trying to suppress the rising tide of anxiety in his throat. “Alexander, sir.”

“Are you aware of the dress code, Alexander?”

“Yes, sir, but you see, I got knocked over outside—“

“Next time, don’t step into my studio without proper tights,” Caleb snaps. “And don’t be late again, either.”

Alex bites back his anger as best he can. “Yes, sir,” he grits out. 

Caleb, satisfied, and moves to the front of the room. Alex drops his duffel bag by the door and takes off his shorts. As he does so, someone jostles his shoulder, rather aggressively, and Alex looks up in time to see the skater from earlier push past him, his long hair now in a tightly-wrapped bun. 

Of fucking course he has to be in this class, Alex thinks. Not like today could get any worse. 

Alex takes him in and notices that he’s wearing a leotard and nude tights instead of a white t-shirt and black tights—the female uniform, not the male one—and a key around his neck, which is just a blatant violation of the dress code. Loose jewelry can lead to injuries, and Alex can perfectly imagine that thing whipping around and smacking someone. Alex looks to Caleb, waiting for him to call him out for it, or for being even later than Alex, but Caleb just nods at the skater and calls the class to attention, sparking a tiny flame of rage in Alex’s gut. 

“Welcome,” Caleb says. “I’m your new instructor, Caleb Covington. I’m sure some of you may have heard of me, but I just transferred studios from Hollywood Dance Academy with my child, William.”

He gestures to the skater, and Alex’s heart plummets. Of course he had to go and piss off not only his new instructor, but his instructor’s kid as well. All the eyes in the class turn to William, and for a moment he seems to shrink away from the attention, but then he catches Alex’s eyes and raises his chin proudly. It feels like a challenge, and Alex hates him just a little bit more. 

“I’ve been told you’re all exceptional dancers,” Caleb continues, “which is why I expect the best from you. For our recital this year, we’ll be performing _The Sleeping Beauty_.”

A murmur of surprise and excitement sweeps through the room. _The Sleeping Beauty_ is one of the most challenging ballets, right up there with _Swan Lake_. Prince Désiré is a coveted role, and Alex decides right then and there that there’s nothing he wants more.

“Yes, I know this dance is a challenge even for professionals,” Caleb says, “but I have faith that you all will exhibit the hard work and dedication necessary to pull it off. This week we’ll start by learning audition routines, and in two weeks I will select our leads.”

Carrie leans over to Alex and whispers, “That role is so yours.”

Alex grins at her, but he can’t help but feel the anxiety clawing at the back of his head. He’s the best dancer in the class besides Carrie—not something he brags about, just a fact, but a fact that he’s proud of—but if William is Caleb’s son he’s probably been dancing his whole life. Alex only started four years ago, and now he’s on _both_ the Covingtons’ bad sides, so of course Caleb will choose his son over him. 

“Line up at the barre for warmups, please,” Caleb orders. 

Alex and Carrie head to their usual spot on the barre, with Carrie behind him. Their class is pretty small, so there’s usually no one in front of him. Unfortunately, this leaves room for the newest addition to the class. 

“Nice tights,” Alex snarks as William slides into the spot in front of him. “What, your daddy’s the instructor so dress code doesn’t apply to you?” He’s aware he’s being a dick, but he’s having a really bad day and this kid seems to dislike him just as much so what’s the harm in taking out some of his stress?

“At least mine don’t have holes in them,” William shoots back, keeping his eyes straight ahead. Caleb starts leading the warm up and Alex notes with frustration that talking to him isn’t even remotely distracting William from his perfect form. 

“And whose fault is that?” Alex says. “Maybe you should take that key off before you injure someone else.”

This seems to strike a chord. William whips his head around and snaps, “Maybe you should mind your own business.” 

“William,” Caleb calls. “Alexander. You both know better than to speak in class.”

William shoots Alex a final glare before turning back around. 

They don’t speak to each other for the rest of class, but every time their eyes meet, William’s glare gets a little colder. 

After an excruciating three hours, class finally ends and Alex throws his shorts on before following Carrie out to where her dad’s car is waiting by the curb. Carrie gets in and rolls down the window so Alex can lean in and talk. 

“Hey, Uncle Trev,” Alex says. 

Trevor pulls down his sunglasses to get a better look at him. “Hey kiddo, how was class?” 

Alex shrugs. “Could have been better. Hey, um, I kind of ripped my tights...”

Trevor waves his hand. “Say no more. Thirty bucks enough?”

“Yeah, that’s perfect.”

Trevor pulls out his wallet and hands over two twenties. “Keep the extra. Need a ride home?”

“Nah, I’m gonna walk to the studio and change before I head home.”

Trevor nods. He knows the reason Alex can’t go home in his uniform, and he never pushes him about it, something Alex is endlessly grateful for. 

“See you later for dinner, then?” Trevor asks. 

“Yeah. Thanks, Trev.”

Trevor and Carrie wave as they drive away, and a part of Alex wishes he could drive away with them. At this point, he considers the Wilsons and the Molinas to be more his family than his actual parents. 

He heads into the tiny store in the back of the studio, greeting the cashier as he enters. He grabs a pack of tights, throws it on the counter, and slides the cash over. 

As he waits for the cashier to ring him up, he glances around the store, freezing when he hears voices out in the lobby. 

“Dad, please—“

“My mind is made up, William.”

The cashier hands Alex his change, and Alex takes the tights before slinking over to the store entrance, peeking out into the lobby. 

William has changed out of his uniform into ripped up shorts and a tie-dye crop top, sort of the opposite of what Alex would expect a Covington to wear outside the studio. Caleb looms over him, still in his uniform. 

“You can’t keep doing this,” William insists. “It’s not fair—“

“Everyone will get their equal chance,” Caleb says, sounding like he’d rather be anywhere else. 

“You know that’s not true. I don’t want to—“

“I have to get ready for my next class. We can discuss this at home.”

Caleb strides into Studio B, slamming the door shut behind him. William lets out a frustrated groan and drops into a chair. 

“What’s the matter, William?” Alex says, stepping into the lobby. “Your daddy won’t just give you the lead?”

“It’s Willie,” he snaps, with much more force than necessary, in Alex’s opinion. “And I was asking him _not_ to give me the lead, asshole.”

This, admittedly, surprises Alex. That’s actually a really cool thing of him to do, and Alex is about to apologize when Willie continues, “I wanted everyone to have a fair chance, but since you’re being such a dick, maybe I will put myself up for it.” 

Alex snaps his mouth shut, narrowing his eyes. “Alright. Fine. May the best man win.”

Willie winces. “Fuck off.” He grabs his bag and skateboard and storms out the door. 

Now it’s Alex’s turn to groan and sink into a chair. What has he gotten himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ik they both come off as jerks in this chapter but I swear they will get better! The next chapter will be from Willie’s POV and you’ll see they’re having just as bad a day as Alex.


	2. Shake My Hands At The World And Its Pyramid Schemes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willie probably shouldn’t take it so personally when the boy rudely brushes them off. They would be upset too, if their tights tore right before class. But they’re really fucking sick of being brushed off. Lately, it feels like it’s been happening constantly. At school, at his old dance studio, with his father. He feels like he hasn’t gotten a full sentence out in months. 
> 
> So maybe he’s a little rude back to Alexander. What goes around comes around, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MAJOR CONTENT WARNING for homophobia in this one. No f slurs but Alex’s dad uses homophobic language. Also there’s some mentions of transphobia.

Willie doesn’t mean to make an enemy on their very first day at their new studio. They don’t mean to run over the cute boy outside the building, and they definitely don’t mean to rip his tights. 

They probably shouldn’t take it so personally when the boy rudely brushes them off. Willie would be upset, too, if their tights tore right before class. But they’re really fucking sick of being brushed off. Lately, it feels like it’s been happening constantly. At school, at his old dance studio, with his father. He feels like he hasn’t gotten a full sentence out in months. 

So maybe he’s a little rude back to Alexander. What goes around comes around, right?

And then Alexander starts making comments about Willie’s uniform, and Willie decides that they hate him. The entire reason Willie left their old studio—and upended Caleb’s job, as he loves to remind them—was so that they could wear the uniform they felt more comfortable in. Willie had assumed that a studio with a gender-inclusive policy would have students with the same ideals. Apparently, they were wrong. 

Despite all that, when Caleb pulls Willie aside after class and tells them that he wants them to have Prince Désiré, they fight it. They don’t want it if they haven’t earned it, and as much as they hate to admit it, they were watching Alexander and he might be the better dancer. They’re on par with each other in terms of technical skills, but Alexander dances with this passion that Willie hasn’t felt in a while. 

But of course, Alexander overhears that conversation and assumes the worst of Willie, so Willie decides that actually, they _do_ want Prince Désiré. Then Alexander misgenders them, and it’s set in stone. Willie is going to do everything in their power to genuinely win this part. 

Later that night, they burst into Caleb’s office without knocking, startling their father into sweeping some papers off his desk. 

“I want another teacher with you when you choose the leads,” Willie demands. “To keep you fair. I’m going to win that role, but I want to earn it.”

Before Caleb can argue, Willie leaves, slamming the door behind them. They take a moment to revel in the exhilaration of being the one to do that for once, then head down to the makeshift studio in their basement and start working on their audition routine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the following two weeks, Willie and Alexander are constantly at each other’s throats, in and out of rehearsal. It turns out they go to the same school, and Willie’s best (and only) friend Flynn is also good friends with Alexander and his band. Willie has seen the group around before but he’s never really paid them much attention. Now, he spends his entire lunch period glaring across the room at Alexander and receiving frigid looks in return. 

“You should just talk to him,” Flynn tells him one day at lunch. They eat together every other day, and up until this point, Willie’s never given a lot of thought to who they eat with when they’re not with him. “He’s really a nice guy. You just caught him on a bad day.”

“Yeah, I’m sure the guy who constantly insults and misgenders me is _so_ nice.”

Flynn rolls their eyes. “Have you ever actually told him that you’re non-binary?”

“Of course I have,” Willie responds. “I…” They trail off, wracking their memory for any indication they’ve given Alexander that they’re not cis. All they come up with is their uniform and the fact that Caleb introduced them as his child, not his son. “I guess I haven’t. But I mean, there’s a big difference between wearing the wrong color tights and wearing the full girls’ uniform.”

“Okay, yes, it was shitty of him to assume,” Flynn concedes, “but like I said, he was having a really bad day. He probably wasn’t paying enough attention to put two and two together.”

“It felt like I was the only thing he was paying attention to,” Willie grumbles.

“My point is,” Flynn says, “ _I_ used my words and _told_ Alex that I’m nonbinary, and he hasn’t misgendered me since. He’d do the same for you.”

“You can’t be sure of that. He hates me.”

“He’s a bit of a dick, not a horrible human being. He knows the difference between petty insults and disregarding someone’s identity.”

Willie drops their head onto their arms and groans. “Why do you always have to be right?”

Flynn pats their back sympathetically. “It’s not easy being this perfect.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Willie doesn’t get a chance to come out to Alexander before their next class, because they’re too busy trying to talk themself down from a panic attack. They’ve never been this nervous for an audition before. In truth, they’ve never wanted a role this badly before. 

Alexander goes first, and fuck, yeah, he’s _good_. It does nothing to calm Willie’s nerves, watching the way Alexander gracefully glides across the room. The other teacher Caleb brought in gives him a standing ovation, and Willie wants to scream. 

Two more guys go in between them, and by the time it’s Willie’s turn he feels like he’s going to throw up. If he doesn’t get this role, he’ll never be able to look Alexander in the eyes again. And _God_ , they can’t even imagine how Caleb would react. They’ve never lost a role before, and they do not want to know what that kind of disappointment looks like on their father. 

Willie assumes their starting position, hyper aware of both Caleb and Alexander’s eyes on them. He suddenly feels lightheaded, swaying a little, lost in all the potential negative consequences of his actions, but the music starts and he snaps himself back to reality. 

They’re Willie fucking Covington. There’s not many good things that have come out of their time with Caleb but it has made them one of the best damn ballerinas in Los Angeles. They can do this. 

They let the music take the lead, pouring their entire heart into the movements in a way they haven’t done in years, not since they realized that not even the most perfect performance ever would make Caleb love them for more than their talent. At the time, it had just made them apathetic, but today they let a long-repressed desire to prove themself fuel their performance. 

It’s maybe not the most technical performance Willie’s ever given, but it’s certainly the most passionate. They finish their routine, breathing heavily, and their eyes dart over to their father. His face, as always, is an emotionless mask, but he’s clapping, which Willie takes as a sign of approval. The other teacher applauds as well, though Willie feels like it’s not as hard as the applause Alexander received. 

Willie takes their seat to watch the rest of the auditions. They’re directly in front of Alexander, and they can feel his eyes boring into the back of their head. They try to ignore him but the feeling doesn’t go away after the next three auditions, so they finally turn around to glare at him. 

What they see catches them by surprise. Alexander isn’t glaring, but Willie can’t quite read the emotion in his eyes. It looks almost... impressed? Whatever it is, they don’t have time to figure it out because it only takes a split second for Alexander to realize they’re looking and twist his face into a scowl. Willie rolls their eyes and turns back around. 

At the end of the auditions, Caleb and the other teacher slip out of the room to deliberate. As their classmates chat nervously around them, Willie pulls the key around their neck out from where it’s tucked into their leotard and runs their thumb over it, willing the clock to move faster. 

“Hope you’re ready to be my prince,” they hear Carrie Wilson say to Alexander. Of course she’s going to be Aurora. Willie doesn’t think anyone ever doubted that. 

Caleb and the other teacher are gone for maybe half an hour, but it feels like an eternity. The room falls silent as they enter and Caleb holds up his clipboard. 

He reads through some of the smaller roles first, and Willie lets out a breath of relief when their name isn’t called for any of them. 

“Now for the leads,” Caleb announces, and those who haven’t had their names called lean forward in anticipation. “In the role of Princess Aurora, we have Miss Carrie Wilson.”

Willie claps politely for her, but their heart feels like it’s about to beat out of their chest. 

“And in the role of Prince Désiré...” Caleb locks eyes with Willie, and their stomach plummets. They’ve never seen such anger in his eyes before. “Alexander Mercer.”

Willie goes numb to the world. Caleb keeps listing off roles, and they’re vaguely aware of their name being called as the king or something, but for the most part all they hear is radio static. 

This can’t be happening. They were so sure they’d be able to get this role, prove that they could really earn it without the nepotism. Now they’ve ruined Caleb’s vision for the show, and there’s going to be hell to pay. They can see it in the way Caleb’s glare never leaves them as he finishes off the cast list. 

Caleb dismisses the class, but Willie doesn’t move from where they’re planted on the bench. Caleb crosses to them and puts a too-strong hand on Willie’s shoulder. 

“Wait in the office until my classes are done,” he hisses. “We’re going to discuss this.”

Willie nods, and Caleb stalks out of the room. For one glorious moment, Willie thinks their alone, but then a voice speaks from behind them.

“Well? Aren’t you going to congratulate me?” 

Willie turns to look at Alexander. They can’t find the energy to morph their face into anything but numb shock, and Alex seems caught off guard. 

“Are you okay?” he asks. 

Willie doesn’t respond, simply stands and pushes past Alexander before running to the empty office across the lobby and bursting into tears. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They only get a few minutes of sobbing in peace before they hear the lobby door bang open, and a furious voice yell, “What the fuck is this?”

Willie jumps to his feet and runs to the door of the office, phone in hand in case he needs to call for help. He peeks out into the lobby and sees a tall blonde man storming over to Alexander, who looks like he was on his way into the bathroom to change. 

“Dad,” Alexander says, scrambling backwards. “What—how did—“

“ _This_ is where you’ve been sneaking off to every Saturday? Doing this pansy shit?”

“Dad, I can explain—“

“You were already pushing it with that fruity ass band of yours, but _this_? No son of mine is going to be some _fairy_ prancing around in tights.”

Alexander shrinks into himself. Willie stands frozen, unsure if they should step in or not. Would Alexander even want them to? What would they even say?

“If you _ever_ set foot in this place again, you’re out. You understand me?”

Alexander’s eyes widen in panic. “Please, Dad. I’m _good_ at this. I—I just got the lead, I can’t—“

“ _Do you understand me?_ ” Alexander’s father roars. It even scared Willie into taking a step back. 

Alex nods, lowering his eyes to the floor. “Yes, sir.” 

“Get in the car. Now.”

Alexander’s father turns on his heel and storms out to the car. Alexander starts to follow, but on the way out he lifts his head and catches Willie’s eye. He quickly turns away. 

Willie still stands frozen. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They have their own confrontation with their dad a few hours later. It’s not nearly the same subject matter, but the anger is the same. 

Willie barely listens as Caleb goes on and on about how Willie humiliated him; how they’re ungrateful; how he uprooted his job simply so Willie could wear nude tights instead of black; how he’s given Willie everything and they can’t even do the one thing he asks of them in return. 

Caleb’s never been so direct about his feelings towards Willie, and under any other under circumstances, they would have withered under all the shame he’s piling on. However, Willie just sits there and takes it, their mind more preoccupied with what they witnessed between Alexander and his dad. They should have done something. They could have at least tried. 

About halfway through his tirade, Caleb gets a phone call from Alexander informing him that he’s quit the class. Caleb hangs up and turns to Willie with a sneer. 

“Well, looks like you get Prince Désiré after all.”

It’s a hollow victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise next chapter will have the “to friends” part of “enemies to friends to lovers.” Perhaps even some of the “to lovers” 👀


	3. I'm In Love With The Groove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex still doesn’t know how his dad found out about the dance lessons, but his life has been hell since then. He’s grounded for the foreseeable future, so not only does he not get to dance, he doesn’t get to drum either, which is his only other outlet for all these shitty feelings that have been boiling beneath the surface since his dad found out. He really only gets to see his friends at school now, and he tries to savor that time, so he thinks he can be forgiven for completely ignoring Willie when he walks up to their table the Monday after Alex's last ever dance class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings for mentions of homophobia and transphobia, and the mentioned death of Willie's mother.

Alex still doesn’t know how his dad found out about the dance lessons, but his life has been hell since then. He’s grounded for the foreseeable future, so not only does he not get to dance, he doesn’t get to drum either, which is his only other outlet for all these shitty feelings that have been boiling beneath the surface since his dad found out. 

The only time he gets to see his friends now is at school, which sucks on a million different levels. He doesn’t have many classes with any of them; Luke is in all special ed classes, and Reggie bounces between those and AP. Flynn, Julie, and Carrie are in the grade below them, so the only times he gets to see anyone besides Bobby is during gym and lunch. 

He tries to savor that time, so he thinks he can be forgiven for completely ignoring Willie when he walks up to their table the Monday after Alex's last ever dance class. 

“Hey,” Willie says, and he sounds a bit nervous, but Alex decides he doesn’t care. He keeps his eyes on Reggie, who is still telling a story, completely oblivious to the intruder at their table. 

“I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute,” Willie continues. 

Luke and Julie have noticed him now, and Luke shoots Alex a confused look, but Alex resolutely ignores all of them. 

Willie sighs. “Alexander, please...”

“Oh my god,” Alex snaps, finally turning to look at Willie. “You already got the stupid role. What more do you want?”

The whole table freezes, even Reggie. Willie shifts uncomfortably on his feet, eyeing Alex’s friends. His gaze land on Flynn, who gives him a little nod. He takes a deep breath and turns back to Alex. 

“It’s kind of personal,” Willie says, biting his lip. “Can we maybe go somewhere private?”

“Fine,” Alex huffs. He stands, pointedly avoiding his friends’ eyes. They’ve all heard a lot about Willie in the past few weeks, about how he’s pretentious and talented and awful and beautiful and rude. He’s big enough to admit that he has a lot of conflicting feelings, but his friends have not been subtle about pointing out the positive ones when all he really wants is to rant about the negative ones. 

He lets Willie lead him to an empty corner at the back of a library, where a small study table is tucked behind some bookshelves. Alex leans against the table and crosses his arms as Willie begins pacing back and forth in front of him.

“Well?” Alex asks, raising an eyebrow.

Willie stops pacing and looks Alex dead in the eye. “I’m sorry.”

 _Oh_. Well, Alex wasn’t expecting that.

Willie pushes through Alex’s shock, resuming his pacing. “I’m really sorry I was such a dick to you, although to be fair, you were a dick first, but I should have been the bigger person and been nicer.”

Alex isn’t quite sure what to do with this rambling version of Willie. Their conversations are usually rapid-fire, hurtling sharp insults at each other at unbelievable speeds. He’s never heard Willie say this much at once. 

“I’m also sorry I overheard the thing with your dad,” Willie continues. “But also kinda not sorry? Because, like, I get it. I’ve gone through shit like that too, and maybe I should have realized that you were going through it—“ Willie cuts himself off with a little shake of his head. “That’s not my point. My point is that I was a dick to you and I’m sorry and I want to tell you _why_ I was such a dick but _God_ , it’s hard, why is this so hard—“

“Willie—“ Alex tries to cut in, but Willie suddenly stops and whirls around to face him. 

“I’m non-binary.”

“Oh,” Alex says, and then the realization smashes into him like Willie did that first day they met. “ _Oh._ Oh my god, Willie, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Willie shrugs, suddenly fascinated by their shoelaces. They have their arms crossed, rubbing their thumb over their bicep. “I mean, it’s not, but like. I never told you. I thought I did, but Flynn pointed out that I was wrong, so sorry for assuming the worst of you. Although you did the same to me. Um. Anyways. I use he and they pronouns, so you didn’t technically misgender me, but...”

“All those times I made fun of your uniform,” Alex realizes. 

Willie nods. “Didn’t feel great.” 

Alex takes a step closer, subconsciously reaching for Willie before realizing that normal people aren’t as touchy as his friends, and Willie definitely doesn’t want the guy who’s been misgendering them touching them at all. 

“I’m really, really sorry, Willie,” he says. “About everything. I was having a really bad day when we met, and I mean, you saw my dad, you know what that is. But I have absolutely no excuse for the shit I said, especially about your uniform. You have every right to hate me.”

“I don’t hate you,” Willie says. “Well, maybe I did. A little. But I think we both got off on the wrong foot and assumed the worst of each other, and I was kind of wondering if we could start over.” 

Alex nods. “Yeah, I’d like that.” He sticks out his hand for a handshake. “Hi, I’m Alex and I use he/him pronouns.”

Willie gives him a small smile and shakes his hand. “I’m Willie, he/they, and I know we just met but have a proposition for you.”

“A proposition?” 

“Yeah,” Willie nods. “I can tell that dance is really important to you, and it really sucks that you won’t get to come to class anymore, so I thought I could maybe teach you the Prince Désiré parts after I learn them in class?”

Alex stares at them, stunned. It might be one of the nicest things anyone’s ever done for him, second only to the Molinas and the Wilsons basically adopting him, and he really can’t believe it’s coming from someone who hated his guts not even ten minutes ago. 

Willie seems to take his silence as rejection. “Sorry, it was a stupid idea. You can say no, I just thought it might help if you didn’t have to give up dance completely.”

“Willie,” Alex breathes, and their head snaps up to look at him. “That’s so nice of you, and after everything I’ve done to you, I— I just don’t deserve it.”

“Yeah, well,” Willie shrugs, “you don’t deserve to have your homophobic father take away something you love, either.”

There’s an edge to their voice, and Alex wonders what exactly Willie meant when they said they’ve gone through the same shit. Clearly, they aren’t just doing this to help Alex, but the fact that they’re doing it at all is enough for him. 

_Screw it_ , he decides. He throws his arms around Willie. “Thank you.”

Willie tenses up like they’re not quite sure what to do when hugged. “Um, is that a yes?”

Alex pulls back, shoving his hands into his pockets apologetically. “Yes, _please_.”

“Cool,” Willie says with a little smile.

They exchange numbers and spend the rest of the period figuring out where and how to rehearse—Alex is still very much grounded and Willie would be too if their dad found out they were giving away his choreography for free. Thankfully, Julie is Ms. Harrison’s favorite and she has a key to the band room, which she agrees to lend to Alex on the condition that he guards it with his life. 

After they figure that out, the only issue is convincing Alex’s dad to let him stay late after school. 

The morning of their first secret lesson, Alex approaches his father at breakfast. He clears his throat nervously and his dad looks up from his newspaper with a glare. 

“Is it okay if I stay a couple hours after school? Carrie asked me to tutor her in English.”

“Can’t you do that here?” 

“She has Dirty Candy rehearsal in the gym afterwards, so it’s easier for her to stay.”

His dad studies him for a moment, and Alex wills his fidgety hands to stay still for once in his life. 

“Fine,” his dad grunts, finally. “But I’m picking you up from the school exactly at 5. If I find out you’ve been somewhere else...”

“I won’t be,” Alex says, a little too firmly. He tries to soften his tone. “Thanks, Dad.”

His dad nods and goes back to his paper. Alex grabs an apple from the counter and is about to leave when his dad speaks up again. 

“You know, Carrie is a nice young lady.”

Alex bites his tongue. Somehow he doesn’t think saying, “Actually, we’re both super gay,” will help his case, so he simply forces a smile and says, “Yeah, she is.”

It leaves a sour taste in his mouth for the rest of the day. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the last period of the day, Alex books it to the bathroom to change. He doesn’t have his uniform anymore; his dad demanded he hand it over as soon as they got home from that day at the studio. He probably burned it. So now, all Alex has is his gym shorts and t-shirt, and he silently prays Willie won’t ask him about it. 

Well, he’d probably deserve it after all the digs he made about Willie’s uniform. He still can’t believe he was such an ass about it. 

He finds Willie waiting for him in the band room, already in their uniform and stretching. They look up at him with a nervous smile when he enters. 

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Alex drops his bag next to the door and joins them on the floor to stretch. 

An awkward silence settles over the two of them, filled only by the rock music playing quietly from Willie’s phone. Alex desperately wracks his brain for a conversation topic, but what the hell do you say to the person you’ve been constantly insulting for weeks who’s now doing something incredibly kind for you? He settles on the one thing he always knows how to talk about: music. 

“I really like this song,” he says, at the exact same time Willie says, “You can change the music if you want.”

The two of them blink at each other, then let out awkward laughs. 

“So do you really like the song,” Willie asks, “or did you just say that to break the ice?”

“Little of both?” Alex says with a shrug, and Willie chuckles. “I do love this band, though. Midnight Madness, right?”

“Yeah,” Willie says, surprised. “Not many people know them. They’re still kind of local.”

“Yeah, we’ve opened for each other a few times.”

“No way!” Willie says, eyes lighting up in a way Alex has never seen before. “That’s so cool. Y’know, Flynn’s offered to get me tickets to see them a couple times. I bet they were for the nights your band was playing.”

“So you’ve seen us play?” Alex asks. He’s not quite sure why there’s this fluttering under his ribcage at the thought of Willie seeing his band. 

“Um, no.” Willie ducks their head, suddenly sheepish. “My dad doesn’t let me go to concerts.”

“Well hey,” Alex says, leaning over to nudge their shoulder with his own. “Maybe next time we play with them I can sneak you out to come see us. Secret concerts in exchange for secret dance lessons.”

Willie gives him a little smile, and that fluttering intensifies. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Alex makes a mental note to ask Flynn to book a gig with Midnight Madness as soon as humanly possible.

Willie jumps to their feet. “You ready to get started?” 

Alex nods and stands as Willie changes the music to Prince Désiré’s first number. 

“So I figured I could just run through what I learned and then teach it to you?”

“Sounds good.” Alex leans on a music stand and watches Willie take their starting position. 

When Willie starts to dance, the rest of the world drops away. 

It’s not the first time Alex has seen them dance, obviously, but there’s something different about this time. Before, in class, there was a fire raging within them, something angry and spiteful and ambitious. Now, there’s something softer about them. The way they move feels lighter, freer, like now they're complete whereas before they were reaching for something. 

When Alex finally snaps out of his daze long enough for Willie to start teaching him the choreography, he gets it. There’s no pressure here; no overbearing teacher to impress, no roles to win or lose, no consequences for a missed step or a fumbled landing. When he does make a mistake, Willie simply smiles and walks him through how to do it again. For the first time since he started advanced classes, Alex feels free to fully enjoy himself, all his anxieties about being the best locked away in the back of his mind. 

“You’re a really good teacher,” Alex says after about an hour, when they sit down for a water break.

“Thanks,” Willie says, taking a swig of their water. “I actually taught beginner classes at my old studio, so that’s reassuring to hear.”

“Really? Alex asks. “I’ll bet the kids loved you.”

“I don’t know about that,” Willie chuckles, “but they were fun. I’m trying to get a class at the new studio, but it was already hard enough to get a class for Caleb. There’s not many openings.”

“Do you think that’s what you want to do?” Alex asks, politely not asking why they refer to their dad by his first name, even thought he desperately wants to. “I mean, if you’re not starring in the New York Ballet by then.”

He means it as a joke, a compliment even, but Willie’s expression shutters. They pull their key necklace out from where it’s tucked into their leotard and run their thumb over it, pointedly avoiding Alex’s eyes. 

“I used to,” they say quietly. “I wanted to be just like Caleb, dance with the San Fran Ballet until I’m too old and then start teaching the next generation but… right now I’m just teaching because I need the money. I’m not even really sure I want a career in dance at all anymore.”

Alex wants to ask so many questions about why they need the money, why they’ve lost their passion, what they would do instead—questions are kind of his thing, okay, sue him— but Willie jumps to their feet and tucks the key back into their leotard. 

“Wow, sorry,” they laugh. “That was TMI. You ready to jump back into it?” 

The way they ask it leaves no room for argument, so Alex nods and joins them on their designated dance floor. The rest of the lesson is thoroughly enjoyable, and Alex comes to the realization that he could not have been more wrong in his judgment of Willie. They’re kind, and patient, and funny. They talk a lot, and ramble about cool facts that are only vaguely relevant to what they’re doing, but Alex finds he doesn’t mind. They’re nice to listen to. 

And they’re pretty. Like, really, really pretty. Alex thinks he manages to stay relatively focused despite that distraction. He only stumbles once because he’s staring at the strand of hair that’s fallen out of their bun, and he thinks that’s pretty fair for someone in his position. Of course, he’ll never _ever_ admit to Willie why he stumbled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Midnight Madness, huh?” Flynn asks with a knowing grin at lunch the next day. 

Alex glares at her as Luke looks between the two of them. 

“What’s so special about them?” he asks. “We’ve played with them, like, dozens of times.”

“They’re Willie’s favorite band.” Flynn wiggles her eyebrows and Alex sees the lightbulb go off in Luke’s eyes. 

“Oooh—“ 

“Shut up,” Alex cuts him off. “Both of you. Just book them, please? And make sure it’s _after_ I’m ungrounded.”

“Yes, sir,” Flynn says with an eye roll, already pulling out their phone to email Midnight Madness’s manager.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 _Julie and the Phantoms ft. Midnight Madness_ , Alex texts Willie that night. _Two weeks from Friday._

Willie texts back almost immediately. 

_Can’t wait Princey :D_

The nickname’s new. Alex isn’t quite sure how he feels about it. 

(He loves it.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Over their next two lessons, Alex and Willie relax into a steady friendship. There’s something about Willie that puts Alex at ease; quiets the constant barrage of thoughts in his head. 

“How long have you been dancing?” They ask one day during their lesson. 

“About four years,” Alex shrugs. 

“No way,” Willie says. “That’s insane. Most people with your skill level have been dancing since they could walk.”

Alex feels his face heat up, and he begs whatever god is listening that Willie won’t notice. “I mean, you’re just as good as me, if not better. How long have you been dancing?”

“A while,” they say, and Alex wants to protest that that’s not really an answer, but Willie is already pushing on. “How’d you get into it?”

“Well, you know Carrie?”

“My love interest,” Willie nods, screwing their face up in mild disgust. 

Alex laughs. “Yeah, well, me and her brother Bobby have been best friends since birth, basically. One day their dad, Trevor, took the three of us out for lunch before Care’s dance lesson, but he forgot he had this super important meeting so he just dropped me and Bobby off at the studio with her. The teacher made us participate for the day. Bobby hated it, but I kind of fell in love with it. Trevor saw how happy I was afterwards and offered to pay for my lessons.”

“That’s really nice of him,” Willie says. 

“Yeah. He’s basically my dad at this point.” Alex allows himself a moment to be silently grateful for the Wilsons before asking, “What about you? How’d you get into it?” 

Willie’s hand reaches for their key. “My mom was a dance teacher. She never, like, danced in a professional ballet or anything, but she loved it. She signed me up for classes when I was little.”

“So you _have_ been dancing since you could walk,” Alex jokes. 

“Sort of,” Willie says. “I, um—after she died I got stuck with a foster family who wouldn’t let me dance. It was three years, I think, until Caleb adopted me and I got to start again.”

“I’m sorry, that really sucks,” Alex says. It clicks into place why Willie offered to do this for him. He couldn’t imagine going three years without doing the thing he loves. “That’s a lucky coincidence that you ended up with a dance teacher.”

Willie grimaces and Alex immediately regrets his words. He never wants to make Willie look like that again. 

“It wasn’t a coincidence,” they say slowly. “He was my mom’s coworker, and my dance teacher before they made me quit. When I stopped showing up for classes he decided to fight for custody so my talents wouldn’t go to waste. It took three years, but he won.” Willie takes a deep, shaky breath. “Sorry, I don’t really like talking about this. He’s not—he’s not a great dad.”

“Don’t apologize,” Alex says immediately, moving to grab Willie’s hand. “I get it. I’m sorry I pushed.”

Willie gives him a small smile and Alex realizes with horror what he’s doing. He tries to pull away, but Willie squeezes his hand, keeping him in place. 

“It’s okay,” they shrug. “Tell me about this concert tonight?”

Alex nods and does as he’s asked, and if they keep holding hands until their water break is over, well, neither of them mentions it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The concert will be in the next chapter! I was going to include it in this one but then it got loooong lmao. I'm very excited for the next chapter though

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are much appreciated if you enjoyed! :) 
> 
> I’m wr0temyway0ut on tumblr if you want to come chat about these ghosties!


End file.
